A/N: Phew! I had to do three versions of this chapter before I was finally satisfied. Writer's block is so annoying...

Anyway, I might or might not put up another chapter for August. Visit my profile for more details. No, actually, even if you don't care, visit it anyways. I re-made the whole thing twice in a day because my computer erased it once. I have a few links to some videos you might like as well, and there's another link for a small, yet huge, spoiler for my next chapter.

Ah, and in this chapter, there's going to be a small reference to Sonic X. Now, before you press the back button, it's really small. Like, it's just one line of dialogue that I quoted. Besides, if any of you noticed, I have been making tiny, tiny references to Sonic X throughout the whole fic, but whenever I do, I usually pretend that the characters they introduced there don't exist (yes, that includes Chris, Uncle Whats-his-face, Cosmo, etc.etc.). Not that I hate them, but I just think they were unnecessary in the show. Except maybe Cosmo... but we'll just ignore that.

Age Changes:

Sonic: 23

Amy: 20

Tails: 16

Cream: 14

Eggman: Unknown

Metal Sonic: Unknown

Knuckles: 24

Rouge: 26

Shadow: Older than I'll ever live to be...

Vector: 28

Espio: 24

Charmy: 14

Tikal: ... she's a spirit...

Chaos: ... he's a water god thingy...

Disclaimer: I. Don't. Own. Sonic. The. Hedgehog.
Never before had Amy felt so many emotions assault her at once. Never before had she considered that everything around her – the earth, the rain, the sky, the wind – could truly feel emotions like she could. It was like a dull background music that had always been present, yet never noticed, was starting to play full blast inside her. Amy never thought that the rain felt hurt when it fell to the earth, or that they were really tears from the sky. She never knew that the wind whispered tales as it blew past her ears, or that the thunder echoed loudly when it was angry. Even the Emeralds themselves had feelings, and were alive in their own way. It took all of her willpower to not succumb to all these new senses that flushed through her, and to simply let the whirlwind of emotions whisk her away.

"It's not as easy as it looks, is it?"

Amy turned her eyes to Super Sonic. He had regained control of his face, but his nose was bleeding freely, probably from Amy's punch earlier. It trickled over his lips and dripped off his chin, but he didn't seem to notice it. Amy felt something flood into her as he stared at him. She could feel the Emeralds grow angry the longer their eyes met, the longer he was standing there… alive. They were angry that this spell had caused their other half to become trapped within this other body, and they were angry that they could not be whole. They were angry that they were dying ever slowly, and their existence in this world may soon cease to exist. Amy had to hold tight onto the anger caused by the Emeralds before it could spread and cloud her better judgment.

Super Sonic flared up his aura again, readying it. "You might have gotten new powers, and the Emeralds might be on your side… but I still overpower you."

Amy narrowed her now sapphire blue eyes. As infuriating as it was to hear him say it, she knew it was true. While Super Sonic had gone and absorbed all negative energy from the Emeralds, she had only absorbed most of the Emeralds' positive energy. And… there was still another thing that tugged at the back of her mind.

'You're saying that I might die in the process, right?'

Amy shook her white-quilled head. Now was not the time to be thinking of that… but yet, her heart still pounded when she thought about it. She was afraid… but not for her own life.

'If it's going to be my life for the sake of all the others, then I'll gladly do it.'

'Yes… that's what I said earlier to Tikal. And it was a promise… to Tikal, to my friends, to myself… and to Sonic.'

She couldn't stop the 'what-ifs' that entered her thoughts though. 'What if I can't stop him? What if he really is too powerful? What if…' and this was her scariest, most despairing thought; 'What if I die before I can stop him?'

But there was no time to be thinking about that. Time never seemed more precious to her, never felt like it was speeding past her as quickly as it did now. This was her chance to alter fate, and she had to do it… now.

She charged; her new speed and new power to fly boosting her forward.

Sonic, seeing this, sped towards his newfound enemy as well.

Auras met and clashed.

'I can't come back to you when you're not here, can I?'

The light from the two forces cleared. Amy was bearing down on Sonic using her Piko Piko Hammer. This time, Sonic's face clearly showed that he needed to use effort to keep Amy's attack back. Both of their hands were gripped on the handle of the hammer, trying to overpower each other.

'Sonic… you were the first person that I've ever truly loved…'

Amy flinched as the memory washed over her mind. She pushed Sonic back with her foot, and the two of them shot away from each other. Screaming, she attacked. "Storming Hearts!"

Quickly, Sonic countered. "Sonic Wind!"

'You know, you are quite an annoying, persistent little brat…'

Pink and blue energy mixed together. Amy clutched the ground as a whirlwind screamed around them, threatening to suck her inside. 'Maybe…' thought Amy as the whirlwind continued it's course. 'Maybe I would've believed that Sonic really meant it… a long, long time ago…'

The energy was strong. It tossed the wind around like a child with a new toy. As it spun, Amy felt like it was sucking out memories from her, forcing her to watch every single one as it ran through her mind.

'Sonic is like the wind…' She heard her innocent, twelve-year old voice say, 'and I am just a petal, blown around by the wind.'

A figure was running through the whirlwind and rushing towards her.

'You should've given up a long time ago, before you lost the chance!'

Gold quills burst through the storm, dispersing it as it continued its' destructive path.

'Amy… let me protect you.'

It uncurled, and Super Sonic lashed out with a powerful kick. Amy blocked it with her hammer, knocking it out of the way. Suddenly, she found herself face to face with Sonic.

'Amy… just promise me you'll let me protect you…'

Their eyes locked. Amy stared, enraptured for a moment. She peered hard into them, as if she was searching for something. Was this the same Sonic that had wanted to protect her? Was this the same Sonic that she would give up her life for?

'No,' a voice inside her answered, truthfully. 'No, this isn't the Sonic who lives in your dreams, who you devoted your life to…'

'This is an entirely different monster. It lives in you darkest nightmares… and is someone you are willing to throw away your life for…'

Red eyes flickered.

'Come back…'

The Emeralds flashed a dim, fluorescent glow, responding to what her thoughts screamed, and to what her heart yearned for.

Gold dust sparked in her hands. A powdery gold orb took form and floated just above her fingers. Amy could feel a tiny strand of energy leave her as the orb grew brighter. By instinct, she held it up to her lips, and blew it into Sonic's face.

Her breath carried it easily. It swirled like snow during a blizzard, but as it touched Sonic's skin, he screamed aloud in pain. Still screaming in agony, he held two hands under her belly, and a beam of light streaked out, hitting her in the stomach. Amy was thrown back, but she easily landed on her feet again. The attack had been weak, barely leaving her with a slight scorch mark on her dress. 'What's wrong with him?' she wondered. 'He could've killed me…'

She turned her eyes to Sonic. He was on the ground, gasping in obvious pain and covering his face. Amy could see no visible marks that she had damaged him though.

Then suddenly, Amy saw something. Was she imagining it? Or did she just see…

Amy flew at Sonic again, just as he was struggling to get up. He tried to fly away as he saw her, but she hit him with her hammer, knocking him down again. He had no time to block her next attack, as she summoned another powdery ball of Chaos energy. Again, she felt the same sensation of energy leaking out of her and into her hand. Once again, she blew onto the energy, and it touched his skin.

She was knocked back again by a powerful kick that left her with a painful bruise, but she didn't care. She was sure of it this time… The gold energy that she had blown onto him had turned black as soon as it touched him, which then beamed itself towards the Chaos Emeralds. The positive Chaos energy that she was blowing into him was forcing out the negative Chaos energy! And now… it was returning to its' rightful place – inside the Emeralds.

As if he had suddenly found out what she was doing, a look of fright shadowed over Sonic's face. A strange sense of understanding passed over Amy. 'Who would've known that even Sonic's negative side could feel fear as well?'

The fright on his face quickly shifted into anger. He stood up, a bit shakily, looking weakened. His face contorted horribly as it kept switching between fury and anguish. "Amy…" The girl didn't know if she should feel smug or disgusted that he finally used her actual name. "Amy… you will pay with your life!" He charged towards her, his fury obviously mounting dangerously higher.

Amy swung out with her hammer, but Sonic just disappeared easily. He re-appeared beside her, hitting her hard with a fist on her cheek. She was thrown back, but using her hammer, she vaulted back up and towards Sonic, trying to smack him with her hammer. Again, he disappeared, but Amy was ready for it this time. She disappeared as well, and Sonic was left spin-dashing into nothing but air.

He uncurled, then turned around and caught Amy's foot as she re-appeared. His other hand rose up, blocking Amy's hammer as she swung it down on him. He bared his teeth menacingly at her as she pushed down with all her might.

Sonic suddenly took his hand off Amy's foot, surprising her, and used both to grab the head of the hammer. He started spinning at dizzying speeds, and Amy had to hold on for her life as Sonic tried to fling her off.

Her hands started slipping, little by little, and despite her efforts, she was thrown off like a rider from her horse. She crashed into a broken computer screen, landing on the sharp shards of glass. As Amy tried to get up, something hard hit her on the arm, and she heard an ominous cracking sound and a searing, white-hot pain started spreading from it. She blinked away white spots that bursted before her eyes. She tried to move her arm, but it dangled uselessly beside her. Gulping in huge gasps of air, she ignored the pain and got up. Her bright white hammer was beside her now. That was what had hit her arm.

She picked up her hammer with her left hand. She got out from the computer, the sharp pieces of glass, now stained red by her blood, crunching beneath her feet.

A frustrated growl met her ears. She saw Sonic's eyes briefly flash towards her broken arm, then back at her face again.

"Why won't you just die?" he screamed at her. His voiced sounded almost hysterical… and was there a hint of a plea? But Amy had no more time to think. He was flying at her again, his eyes wild with an angry, raging fire.

Amy flew up away from him, but Sonic was still faster than her. Soon, there became nothing but bright flashes, even brighter than the lightening as the two fought too fast for the eye to see, so bright that even the shadows shrank away from them. Energy rolled of them in waves.

The wind stung Amy's eyes, forcing out tears. She was doing her best to block as many attacks as possible, but Sonic was able to land many on her. Her body convulsed as Sonic gave her a particularly powerful punch that almost sent her to her knees. She tried to retaliate, but he flew away, out of her reach, then flashing towards her again to hit her.

Super Sonic powered up a beam of energy, than sent it streaking towards her. She held up her hands, catching it, but she was forced to land onto solid ground. The energy kept forcing itself into her, and she found that trying to absorb it felt like someone had impaled her with a sword.

She couldn't hold on any longer. The beam of energy broke through her hands, hitting her hard, and she was thrown back like someone had launched her. Amy heard another sickening crack, then something wet trickle from her collarbone. She placed a hand there, but it felt like a lightening bolt was shooting through her body. Then, before she could get up, Sonic was attacking her again.

Amy stifled another wave of pain as Sonic hit her already shattered collarbone with another kick. The odds weren't good. She now had a broken arm, a broken and bleeding collarbone, and slight cuts all over her body. Amy managed to give Sonic a few solid whacks from her hammer and a few kicks of her own, but he was not as badly hurt as she was, nor was he breathing quite as hard. But he wasn't hesitant to hurt her. She, on the other hand, didn't want to hurt him.

'I… have to slow him down… somehow…' But what could slow down the fastest creature alive? What could she possibly…

Then, the idea struck her as hard as another of Sonic's punches that landed on her. Without stopping her dodging, she gathered up her energy, and shouted, "Amy Flash!"

A bright pink flash exploded from her.

Slowly, it faded into nothing but the softest glow. Amy rubbed her eyes with her good hand in surprise. The lightest hue of pink surrounded almost everything in an almost force field-like dome. A strange hum seemed to be the only thing that rang in the air. Rain fell down normally until it hit her pink dome. As soon as they penetrated its' surface, they stopped abruptly like a tape put on pause.

'But… where's Sonic?'

Amy looked around her in panic. Sonic was no where to be seen. It was like he was simply erased from her sight. Did she do something wrong? Did she… 'Did I kill Sonic?' Her breath caught in her throat. Suddenly, it felt like the pink aura had seeped itself into her heart and stopped that too.

There was another bright flash that almost blinded Amy. She shut her eyes, but she might as well not have for all the good it did. The light seemed to burn through her eyelids, sending them sharp, stabbing pains. She tried to raise a hand to rub them.

Suddenly, her hand was jerked away, and the light dimmed slightly. She cracked open her eyes, squinting and trying to regain control of her hand, but someone was holding tightly onto it. She tried to open her mouth in protest, but her voice stopped halfway through her mouth. It hung open in a voiceless scream.

Amy hadn't done anything wrong. Her attack had worked perfectly, but Sonic had put up a gold energy shield around himself. The pink aura that covered everything around them seemed to try to touch him, but shrank away like it had been scalded when it brushed the golden shield. His eyes weren't just wild anymore… they were maniacal, and the hint of the old bloodlust she had seen there had returned.

Sonic jerked her hand hard again, relishing her muffled shout of protest. Grabbing both of her arms, he slammed her onto a wall.

His breath, smelling of iron from blood, brushed her face as he breathed. He was panting a little, but his firm grip on her smothered any possibility of escape from Amy's mind. He had many bruises on his body, and there was a cut over his left eye that was slowly weeping blood. He twisted her hand the wrong way, hard. She could feel it go to the verge of cracking, and her fingers went rigid with numbing pain, releasing her hammer.

"I win," he whispered, sending icy chills through her body.

"No," she said desperately, even though a dark part of her mind secretly agreed. She trashed and flailed, trying to wriggle out of his hold, but her efforts were futile. "I won't let you…"

"Won't let me?" Sonic laughed as Amy continued to struggle. "You don't have a choice! You should've given up a long time ago… before you lost the chance!"

Amy stopped struggling as sudden hurt surged through her. Not the type of hurt her body was feeling right now as blood seeped from her wounds. She felt as if something as hot as a coal was dropped on her heart. Metal Sonic had told her the same thing… give up. But it was old pain. Old pain that she had surpassed, that no longer felt like a wild forest fire that trapped her like a helpless animal. It had burned down to a coal… nothing but a coal that would some day turn to ashes. 'I won't let it stop me anymore… I won't!

Amy suddenly looked up fiercely at Sonic. He looked taken aback by her sudden change in attitude. Why wasn't she struggling for her life anymore?

"Sonic… I lost the chance the moment I saw you…"

"I lost the chance… when I fell in love with you."

Something inside her felt like it opened up. Energy poured out of her and into Sonic. The small trickle that had left her body suddenly turned into a roaring, raging waterfall that broke free from her holds. She let it ravage through her body, ignoring the way that pain ate away at her body, ignoring the way images around her were starting to blur. She barely registered a shout from Sonic as his body started to convulse. His hands seemed stuck on her, unable to let go. Something black was rushing out of his body and into the Emeralds, and this sight pressed her on even more. She gathered up every bit of energy from inside her and it tumbled eagerly through her body and into Sonic's like an overcrowded train station. A roaring was starting to fill her ears until she couldn't feel the pain anymore. She realized that she was killing herself, but she didn't care. She was doing this for Sonic. If she could bring Sonic back, then that was all she cared about. Her heart was starting to race very quickly, and her eyes weren't able to see anymore. Something was driving her away from her body, but energy was still emptying from her body like she was bailing water out of a boat at high speed.

A black cloud started to snake it's way to her eyes, colouring the everlasting white into an impenetrable black. She felt something jolt from under her like she had missed a step going down the stairs and had started falling, fast. She knew now… she was going to die. But she had saved Sonic, and that was all that mattered. She didn't know how she knew… she just did. Tears poured forth from her face as she thought of him. She knew that he would always be in her memories… but even she knew that it wasn't going to be the same. She would never be held by him again. She would never hear his voice again, or be saved by him again. Even Sonic couldn't outrun death… could he?

She suddenly felt exhausted, like she had just been running all day, and the dark, black abyss she was falling into suddenly felt welcoming, like soft and downy fluff. A luxurious sigh escaped her lips.

'It's better this way…'

Sonic gave a start. Did he just hear those words? And why did they make him feel so cold? Why did he feel like he had just dived into icy, freezing water?

'Did something happen to Amy?' And it was as if the thought gave him renewed strength. With all his might, he swung his other arm up so that he was clutching onto the ledge with both hands. He struggled to get up on them, but it was too slippery, and he was too cold. 'Why do I feel so cold?'

"She's dead!"

Sonic almost let go of the ledge. He looked up to see his counterpart, sneering down at him, but looking weak. His form flickered with every step he took, his eyes bloodshot and yellowed.

"She's dead!" he said again, as if making sure that Sonic could hear him.

Sonic gritted his teeth together, making a nasty grinding sound. "I'm not going to fall for another one of your mind games!"

His looming figure gave him a look of disdain. "For once, it isn't me, though I would've loved to kill her myself…"

Sonic shook his head forcibly. "You won't trick me again! I'm coming back to Amy, and you can't stop me!'

He was met with a dangerous looking smirk. "I don't have to stop you. You have no one to go back to…"

Sonic glared at him hatefully. "Get out of my way!"

The smirk grew even larger. "No… I'm taking you both down with me!"

Before Sonic could ask what he was talking about, a foot started coming down towards his hand. Sonic held up one hand, catching the foot, then pushed it back up, causing a loud thunk to sound loudly around them. With all his might, Sonic pulled himself up onto the path, his legs wobbling a bit as he landed onto solid ground.

Both Sonics got up, almost mirroring each other's moves. "Believe it, she's dead! Why else would I be here?"

"So you can play some more mind games with me, that's why!" Sonic retorted back. Amy promised that she would be there, waiting for him, and she wouldn't break a promise like that! And he definitely wasn't going to let this monster stand in his way of keeping his promise either! "Now get out of my way!"

Sonic spin-dashed into him, but surprisingly, he went right through his other self. He skidded to a halt, staring in surprise.

"See what I mean?" Laughter followed, echoing in the water. "That girl killed herself to try to kill me! I might be dying, but she's dead too!" More drunken laughter issued from his mouth, and Sonic looked at him in disgust.

'It's better this way…'

Once again, the cold, freezing feeling flooded into him. 'No…' he felt like his stomach dropped out of his body in his fear. 'Amy promised… she promised…'

Then, he turned around, running faster than ever along the path, the laughter following behind him. 'He's lying…'

But once again, those four words rang though his mind.

'It's better this way…'

'Amy, you promised!' He shook his head furiously as tears started to make their way to his eyes. 'No, there's no need for tears. Amy promised… she promised me that she'd be there!'

Running… nothing but the path stretched out before him. He blocked all other thoughts, except running… running to Amy.

'It's better this way…'

A black hole appeared suddenly out of no where but he didn't stop… he just kept running. Soon, it swallowed him whole and he was rising up like he was flying.

'It's better this way…'

A/N: ... I can't really say anything right now without revealing things for the next chapter. But visit my profile if you really want to know that badly. 'Till next time...

Anonymous Reviews:

DeniedLuv: Yeah, they should make Amy have that ability! Though I agree, it would be creepy. And she wouldn't be the maiden in distress as much. Though I do think Sega makes her look too weak... thnx for reading!

rebecca wong: You know, Youhyun, if I didn't know any better, I'd think that youjust want your name up. Yeah, if any one is reading this, she's the birthday girl, who rudely used someone else's name to cover up for her own. And after I so generously said "Happy B-day" too. Hmph...

azngirlchibi's little brother: ... Wow... you're actually reading this. Meh, at least you're nicer than some people (coughs)

azngirlchibi's friend: Did you just want your name up twice? Fine, here you go: Youhyun. Happy? And it's in bold too!

jacqueline: Yep, here you go! Thnx for reading!

kyle andrews: Hmm... well, germs do regenerate themselves, and multiply (wink wink). It's a start lol. P.S stands for "post-script." But P.S.S is really supposed to be P.P.S, meaning "post-post-script." So now you know... thnx for reviewing!

azngirlchibi